Like this:

“We are wine enthusiasts, the more we drink wine, the more enthusiastic we become.” The Warehouse

There’s no denying Abu Dhabi has some great dining and nightlife spots but most lack guests and therefore atmosphere, The Warehouse Wine & Tapas Bar is no such a place. Located in the Pearl Rotana Capital Centre in the capital’s business district, it’s a busy bar with a great vibe, when we visited on a Thursday evening there wasn’t a free table in the place or a seat at the bar.

The spacious industrial style interior is indicative of it’s Warehouse name, it offers different areas to accommodate those looking to dine or just a grab a drink. While it may call itself a tapas bar don’t expect small plates of Spanish delights as the good size portions are much larger than expected and there wasn’t a plate of olives or patatas bravas in sight. That being said the sharing style food was tasty with a huge selection of dishes including light bites, sliders, meat & cheese platters and sausage sold by the metre.

We tried a variety of international dishes starting with the very moorish avocado hummus with crudities and pita crisps and a Middle Eastern Chicken & Lamb Sujouk (spicy sausage) and Rocca flatbread topped with pomegranate. Next up was a half metre of spicy African Lamb Merguez sausage with caramelized onions and condiments, all I can say is thank goodness the other half declined the metre option because this was huge enough!

Vegetarians are well catered for, especially those cheese lovers like myself who are spoilt for choice, this menu could single handedly bring on a fromage induced food coma. The halloumi fries, part of the Unordinary Fries selection, were a favourite along with the whole baked camembert topped with honey balsamic, raspberries and walnuts served with a variety of bread. Other Cheesy Moments options include raclette melt, fondue, build-your-own mac & cheese, all manner of deep fried cheesy bites and an XXL grilled cheese to share. Not forgetting the goats cheese flatbread and parmesan fries that are also on offer. Veggies looking for a non-cheesy dish should opt for black bean & portobello slider or garlic mushrooms.

Another plus is the service, manager Jether was attentive and knowledgeable offering personal recommendations. Beverage options are vast with an international selection of wines that take up three pages of the menu along with cocktails, sangria, froze, draft & bottled beers and mocktails. The bar offers so many nightly offers it would be hard to not find something you like including daily Happy Hours, Raclette Wednesdays, Fondue Fridays and personal fave Merlot Mondays – click HERE to see all the offers and discounts. If I were to be critical the music was pretty loud making conversations tricky.

Dessert is always a deal breaker for me. The Warehouse menu is definitely savoury heavy with only three sweet options available but if you even get to stage and are still hungry, I applaud you. For research purposes only of course, we shared a Strawberry Yum, a deconstructed strawberry sundae that was a child like display of ice-cream, chocolate dipped strawberries and sweeties topped with an upended ice-cream cone. Those with a bigger appetite can tuck into a chocolate fondue with milk or dark chocolate and ALL the trimmings or a Jack D’elicious spilt aka whiskey soaked bananas, alcohol infused salted caramel ice-cream and a shot of Jack D.

Looking for a new place to try with affordable, good sized portions and copious drinks options? A place for after work drinks or a ladies get together? Perhaps a team night out or just somewhere to gorge on unlimited cheese dishes – The Warehouse has all this covered and more.